Rev. Benjamin Dean & Ella Rue Coffey Lucas

Dr. Ben'j Dean Lucas

Rev. Lucas was a son of Dr. Thomas Ephraim Lucas, MD and his wife, Dorothy C. Hanna.  He was born Dec. 14, 1868 at Chesterfield Co., SC and died there on Mar. 12, 1956.  He and Ella, a daughter of Daniel Rufus and Mildred J. Lawman Coffey, born in Amherst Co., VA on Apr. 3, 1869 and died at Chesterfield on Apr. 12, 1936 were married on Jul. 8, 1903 at Lynchburg, VA.

Cert. of Reg. of American Citizen

Rev. Lucas went to China as a missionary, apparently arriving there in 1890, well before his marriage to Ella Rue in 1903.  Following the birth of their first son, Ben'j, Jr. on Sep. 9, 1906, Rev. Lucas completed a "Certificate of Registration of American Citizen" for the US Consul at Shanghai.  In that certificated he noted his birth date and place and cited Oct. 9, 1890 as the date of arrival in China "for the purpose of mission work."  It also named Ella R. Coffey as his wife and Ben'j as his son.  The form was not established until April, 1907 so, it is likely it was completed by Rev. Lucas that year to officially add the child to the family in accordance with any such requirements of the time.

Although their second child and son, Thomas Lawman Lucas was also born in China in 1910, no such form has been found for him.

Passport Application

In Apr., 1893 Rev. Lucas completed an application at the US Legation in Peking, now Beijing.  It was apparently required to replace an expired passport.

Wedding Announcement

We know from a report in the Lynchburg, VA Times-Dispatch of Jun. 23, 1903 that Ella had been teaching in China for the previous 8 years and that she intended to marry Rev. Lucas on Jul. 8 of that year.

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Mar 1910 Passenger List

The family arrived in Honolulu from Hong Kong on Mar. 25, 1910 aboard the ship Siberia.  We know too from the May 1910 Chesterfield Co., SC census that Ben'j, Ella and their two sons, Ben'j, Jr. and Thomas were living in that county with his parents.

I have not found them in 1920; perhaps the family had returned to China!?.  In 1930 they were back in Chesterfield where Ben'j was employed as a high school teacher and Ella, as a public school teacher.  Their two sons were still living at home with the parents.

In 1940, Benjamin was enumerated as married, wife absent; odd because Ella had died nearly four years earlier.  Ben'j Jr. and his wife, Zenith were renting space in Benjamin's home at the rate of $5 per month.  Jr. and wife did not yet have children.

When Benjamin died in 1956 his obituary, which appeared in The Florence Morning News at Florence, SC on March 13, page 7, revealed that he had been married again after Ella died.  His second wife was Irene Worley of Bennettsville, SC.

Bennettsville, March 12 - Dr. B. D. Lucas, 87, died at 2 p.m., at his home following an illness of two months.

Funeral arrangements will be announced by Hursey Funeral Home at Chesterfield.

Dr. Lucas was twice married.  His first wife Ella Coffey Lucas of Lynchburg, Va. died several years ago.  From this marriate three children survive; Mrs. J. Williams of Charleston, Dr. T. L. Lucas of Alexandria, Va. and Ben D. Lucas of San Antonio, Texas.

Other  survivors include his widow, Mrs. Irene Worley Lucas of Bennettsville; two brothers and a sister.

Dr. Lucas attended The Citadel and graduated in pharmacy from the College of Charleston.

Both Ella and Benjamin are buried at the Chesterfield City Cemetery.  Their graves can be found at Find a Grave, memorial no. 72025231 and 72025068.  Benjamin's parents are also buried at the Chesterfield cemetery.

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Sources:

Library of Virginia "http://www.lva.virginia.gov/" "Miss Coffey to Wed", Wedding announcement, Times-Dispatch, Vol. 1903, No. 16275, Page 3, Col 6, Richmond, VA, 24 June 1903; viewed; 24 September 2013

"Honolulu, Hawaii Passenger and Crew Lists, 1900-1959", Ancestry.com http://tinyurl.com/p5dhm37.

Passport Applications, 1795–1905. NARA Microfilm Publication M1372, 694 rolls. General Records Department of State, Record Group 59. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

"Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XR3L-MHM : accessed 18 Feb 2013), Benjamin Dean Lucas and Ella Rue Coffey, 08 Jul 1903; citing reference Pg 11 Ln 131, FHL microfilm 2048489.

US Federal Census Records

Find A Grave

Spottswood Dandridge & Martha Jane Whiteside Gilbert

I find Spottswood most often referred to by his initials S. D. or, as Dandridge.  He did appear in some census records as Spottswood.  He was born Apr. 15, 1841 in Amherst Co., VA and married Martha Jane Whiteside there on Nov. 5, 1863.  Martha was born Nov. 18, 1841, probably in Amherst Co., and died there on Dec. 10, 1891.  Both are buried at Oronoco, Amherst Co. in the Church of the Brethren Cemetery.

There were at least 11 children born to their union, three of which married into the Jordan Coffey* family.  All of their children were born in Amherst Co.

The first child I have for them is Pency, born Jan. 12, 1865, died Mar. 31, 1893 in Amherst Co.  She married Edward Jackson Henson on Jul. 11, 1886 and had at least five children in the seven years before she died.  She is also buried at Oronoco.

Nancy was next, born c1867.  No further information.

Ginetta, born c1868, married C. M. Bradley on Oct. 29, 1896 in Amherst Co.  No further information.

Charles Dandridge, the fourth child and first son, was born Oct. 10, 1869 and died Jan. 31, 1954 in Amherst Co.  He married Lutie Virginia Coffey on Oct. 16, 1895 in Amherst Co.  I know of one child; Gracie M., born Jul. 1898.  Lutie was the daughter of John Jack Coffey, Jr. and, his wife Patricia F. "Patra" Tyler.  John Jack, Sr. was a son of Jordan and Elizabeth Rippetoe Coffey of "Coffeytown" in Amherst Co.

Mary Jane was born Feb. 20, 1871 and died Nov. 18, 1914.  She married Edmund F. "Ned" Coffey on Jun. 16, 1894 in Amherst Co.  Ned was a son of James and Sophia Coffey Coffey.  James was a son of William "Billy" Coffey and his wife Sally Crawford.  Billy was also a son of Jordan and Elizabeth.  Sophia was a daughter of Schylar Coffey**, another son of Jordan and his wife Betsey Hamilton.

Lucy Catherine was born in Sep., 1872 and married Leslie Austin Robertson, a son of James A. and Mary D. Robertson on Jun. 1, 1898 in Amherst Co.  They had at least one child, a daughter Mary E., born May, 1899 in Nelson Co., VA.

Willis, the second son, was born May, 1874 and married Bessie M. Inge on May 25, 1903 in Buena Vista, VA.  No further information.

The next two children, also sons, were Henry, born Jul., 1876 and Eddie, born c1878.  No further information.

Ruth Davis was child number 10, born Sep., 1879.  "Ruthie" married William Luther Green on Jan. 13, 1904 in Rockbridge Co., VA.  No further information.

Bertha Lillian was the last child and was the third to marry a Coffey.  She was born c1886 and married Irvin C. Coffey, born Sep., 1878 in Amherst Co.  He was the son of William Henry "Cripple Henry" Coffey and his wife, Virginia F. "Jenny" Lawman.  William Henry was a son of John Jack, Sr. and his wife Betsey Duff.

I continue to work on this family as time allows.  Drop an e-mail or add a comment to amend any of this information.

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Update:  Something didn't look right so I went back over census records for this family:

1870 children: Pensie, age 6; Nancy, age 4; and Harry, 8 mos.

1880 children: Pencie, age 14; Nancy, age 13; Genetta, age 12; Charles, age 11; Marie (Mary), age 10; Lucie, age 8; Willis, age 7; Henry, age 4; Eddie, age 2; and Ruth, 8 mos.

1900 children: Lucie, age 17; Willis, age 26 and Henry, age 24.

So, Lucy in 1880 married in 1898.  Who is the 17 yr-old Lucie in 1900?  Ruth married in 1904.  Why isn't she in the family home in 1900?

Harry, age 8 mos., in 1870 apparently did not survive to 1880 and, Eddie, age 2, apparently did not survive until 1900.

There was a child, Bertha, born in Oct., 1885.  That would have put six years between her birth and that of Ruth in 1879 and leaves room for the second Lucie who, according to 1900 census was born in Sep., 1882.

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*DNA testing has shown that Jordan was not a Coffey but was a child of (probably) Jane Coffey, and an unknown Taliaferro (Toliver) male.  Jane was a daughter of William and Elizabeth Osborne Coffey.
**Schylar, Nelson and Henry F. may not have been natural sons of Jordan.  Some believe they were more or less orphans taken in by Jordan and Betsey.  They are the only children of Jordan for which no specific listing of their parents has been found.

Catherine Lawman Sandidge

Catherine Lawman Sandidge was the daughter of Samuel Lawman, born c1792 either in PA or VA.  Samuel often wavered between these two states in various census records.  Catherine was in the household with Samuel on Oct. 21, 1850 and again on July 12 1860 in Amherst Co.

We know that Catherine married Anderson Sandidge c1855.  She was named in the "Annual Report of the Department of Interior" 1926 as the wife of "Anderson Sandidge, first lieutenant, Tinsley's Company, Virginia Militia," and in the "Annual Report of the Commissioner of Pensions to the Secretary of the Interior" in 1924.

Another source, "Catalogue of the Officers and Alumni of The Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, 1749-1888 named Anderson Sandidge of Amherst County as "Captain, War of 1812; Farmer, Teacher, died 1859."

Catherine was identified In subsequent Amherst county census records; namely for Mildred and Daniel Rufus Coffey on Aug. 22, 1870 and widower Daniel on Jun. 24, 1880, and with Virginia on May 16, 1910 and again on Jan. 20, 1920, as mother and/or mother-in-law.

Mildred, born c1850 and Virginia, born Nov. 11, 1851 named John and Catherine Scott as their parents when they married brothers Daniel Rufus and William Henry Coffey in Amherst Co., VA on Apr. 6, 1868.

It has been reported in some well researched genealogies that both girls were illegitimate daughters of Catherine Lawman.  Other researchers have questioned whether or not the Catherine named in the marriage record was Catherine Lawman.

Both girls were in the household with Samuel Lawman in 1860 Amherst Co. along with Catherine, then Catherine Sandidge and her 2-year old son, Aman Sandidge.  As stated above, they each were married before the 1870 census was enumerated.

Census records prove that a John Scott was in Amherst county and was, in fact, a near neighbor of the Lawman family.  In 1850 he resided at dwelling/family 476 while the Samuel Lawman family was in the same district at family 510.  John was not married.

In 1860 Scott was dwelling 110/family 108, which seems to be a bit more distant from the Lawman family which was at dwelling 319/family 316.  It's difficult to judge distances when enumeration district maps are not readily available.  John was still unmarried.

The 1870 census enumeration found John living alone at dwelling 571/family 559 at Amherst Court House while Catherine, a widow, was residing with her daughter Mildred Coffey, wife of Daniel Rufus.

A marriage record for Catherine to John Scott has never been found.  We know that John had been married, but prior to 1850.  In census records from 1850 thru 1870 there was not a wife in his household. 

The girls were young, 18 and 16 respectively when they married, but it is obvious that either they, or someone who was confident of their parentage reported that John Scott was their father.

The conclusion then has to be that the girls, Mildred and Virginia, were the illegitimate daughters of Catherine Lawman Sandidge, both born prior to her marriage to Anderson Sandidge and were fathered by John Scott. 

Comments and other evidence gratefully accepted.  Contact me at the above e-mail address.